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The Pope Denounces Misinformation 'Infodemic' About Vaccines (msn.com) 126

The Washington Post reports: Pope Francis denounced on Friday the "distortion of reality based on fear" that has ripped across the world during the coronavirus pandemic, but he also called for compassion, urging journalists to help those misled by coronavirus-related misinformation and fake news to better understand the scientific facts. "We can hardly fail to see that these days, in addition to the pandemic, an 'infodemic' is spreading: A distortion of reality based on fear, which in our global society leads to an explosion of commentary on falsified if not invented news," the leader of the world's Catholics said.

Meeting with members of the International Catholic Media Consortium on COVID-19 Vaccines — a fact-checking network that aims to combat misinformation — the pope said that being fully informed by scientific data was a human right. "To be properly informed, to be helped to understand situations based on scientific data and not fake news, is a human right. Correct information must be ensured above all to those who are less equipped, to the weakest and to those who are most vulnerable. Francis, 85, received the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus shot last year and has been vocal about the importance of vaccines.

"Fake news has to be refuted, but individual persons must always be respected, for they believe it often without full awareness or responsibility," he said Friday.

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The Pope Denounces Misinformation 'Infodemic' About Vaccines

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  • by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @04:39PM (#62219159)

    If anybody knows how to successfully spread nonsense and misinformation, it's the pope.

    • Enjoy the irony, there's so little left

      • by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @05:36PM (#62219381)

        Enjoy the irony, there's so little left

        Not to worry, politicians -- especially the Republicans -- will continue providing plenty of that.

        • by schwit1 ( 797399 )

          Misinformation like ...

          The vaccinated can't spread COVID
          The vaccinated are not susceptible to new variants and reinfection
          COVID vaccines don't have serious side effects
          No 3rd and 4th shot
          No new shots every year/half a year
          No shots for young children
          No segregation of society between vaccinated and unvaccinated
          No harder access of medical care for unvaccinated
          No secret contrasts between Pfizer and governments

          When you have to change the definition of a word(vaccine) it means you're spreading misinformation

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Wow, you just can't let someone do a good thing, can you?

      You're too blinding by hatred to accept that someone you personally disagree with did something important.

      The pope just saved countless lives with this one message. That's more than you'll have or ever will accomplish in your entire life.

      But go ahead and pretend you're superior in some way. You're not. An you never will be.

      • by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @05:14PM (#62219297)

        Sorry dude, the Catholic church has been a major cause of human misery, suffering and death for most of its existence. It's too easy to have a change of heart for the last few decades and get a free pass when they say one good thing or two.

        If the Pope truly wanted to improve humanity, he would immediately issue an apology, disband the church and return the Vatican to Italy.

        • by Xenx ( 2211586 )
          He is not directly responsible for what others did before him. He is responsible for what he does to improve things. Arguably, he could do more to help society as the head of a major religious organization than he could as just an individual. That isn't to say I side with his decisions, though his stance in this instance is sound, but it would make more sense to hold the position than give it up.
        • by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @08:10PM (#62219743)

          The Catholic church has nearly 2000 years of history. Any organization that has been around for so long will have its dark times which history will look poorly at.
          However in general it has done a better job at keeping the good, than other governments, or ideologies that have been in across history.

          While the Inquisitions make more interesting history lessons, vs. lessons where monks are keeping the books on antiquities copied so they can survive the ravages of time, and be read when society is ready for them.

          The history taught to non-historians mainly focuses around big events, and things that can be remembered so they can be answered on in a test. Protestantism is a big event that had happened in history, and to show what lead up to it, includes documenting the many time the Catholic church in its long history had done the wrong thing.

          Also Italy was founded back in 1946, while Vatican City was in 1929
          Pope Francis did actually offer an apology for many of the misdeeds that Catholic church had committed.

          • by computer_tot ( 5285731 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @10:28PM (#62220061)
            Just in my life time, while the Pope has been a major official in the church, the Catholic church has done the following: Covered up and barred attempts to learn about systematic sexual assault of children. Passed anti-blaspheme laws in Ireland to block news of the church's mis-doings. Prevented millions of people from using condoms during the African AIDS epidemic. Lied about, covered up, and blocked attempts to gain information on the deaths of thousands of First Nations children in Canada. That's just in the last two decades. The Pope has more blood on his hands, directly and indirectly, than I will ever have. Also, Italy was a country long before 1946. Italy fought in the first world war, three decades before 1946. Italy existed centuries before that in various forms. Pick up a history book some time.
            • by Anonymous Coward

              Just in my life time, while the US President has been a major official in the US Government, the US Government has done the following: Covered up and barred attempts to learn about the January 6th insurrection. Passed anti-blaspheme laws in the US to block news of the US Government mis-doings. Prevented millions of people from using condoms during its history due to a focus on abstinence in schools instead of healthy sex education. Lied about, covered up, and blocked attempts to gain information on the deaths of thousands of (insert numerous examples here). That's just in the last two decades. The US president has more blood on his hands, directly and indirectly, than I will ever have. Also, the United States was a country long before 1946. The United States fought in the first world war, three decades before 1946. The United States existed centuries before that in various forms. Pick up a history book some time.

              FTFY - I'm not trying to defend the current pope or Catholic Church, but please do not try to combine all past Popes/Catholic Church administration and their actions and compare them to the current one. Make all the criticisms you want of the current leader and administration during the past nine years, but keep it at that.

          • But I don't think you really supported it. I mean I think with a little bit of effort you could list off one terrible thing after another. But the main concern I have with the Catholic Church and all the major churches is that they bring in trillions of dollars (literally look it up) I have been shown to have one of the worst if not the worst rates of giving out money charitably. Seriously if you're going to donate money to charity churches tend to be the absolute worst you can pick in terms of the amount o
            • If the Catholic Church was just a Charity then it would be bad... However it is Church, they have Churches, sometimes in rather good real estate locations that are expensive to upkeep, and many are very old, so much more upkeep. The need a paid full time staff to keep each individual church running. It isn't setup to be an optimal charity system, however it is setup as a Church to care for the spiritual needs for the local community. Sure wedding preparation, baptisms, funerals, religious education. W

          • by q_e_t ( 5104099 )

            Also Italy was founded back in 1946

            Then what surrendered to the Allies in 1943? And what was Garibaldi doing in the previous century? You are talking about the current version of Italy, which makes as much sense as saying that Windows didn't exist before Windows 11.

          • While the Inquisitions make more interesting history lessons

            The most severe of the inquisitions were not run by the church or the pope, they were run by the local governments. They did get authorization from the pope but this came at the request of the monarch, it didn't come from the church. The crusades did come at the request of the pope, but their execution was up to the monarchs and they went very differently from what the pope had intended. Especially the fourth.

            This, of course, raises the question of whether the church is blameless when people act on their

        • by skam240 ( 789197 )

          Sure you can point to evil things that have come from the Catholic church, through most of its history humans were finding any reason they could come up with to do terrible things to each other. It's not as if the church was the one bad actor in Europe through the entirety of its post BC existence.

        • ... and return the Vatican to Italy.

          Why in the world has this been rated "informative"? It is obviously meant to be funny!

    • by BrainJunkie ( 6219718 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @05:07PM (#62219267)
      And who better to trust on the subject of science? His organization has, throughout history, fully supported scientific endeavors of all sorts.

      Really a cornerstone of human progress those people.
      • by Muros ( 1167213 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @05:22PM (#62219333)

        And who better to trust on the subject of science? His organization has, throughout history, fully supported scientific endeavors of all sorts. Really a cornerstone of human progress those people.

        You are being sarcastic, but you are actually correct. The Catholic Church has studied science throughout the ages, and with the obvious exception of believing in a god, are usually fairly good with facts. A Jesuit priest is responsible for the big bang theory, and contrary to the popular discourse on the matter, Galileo was not condemned for claiming the world orbits the sun; he was condemned for being an arsehole. Even in areas where the church is very obviously wrong, like the use of contraception and abortion, they rely on fuzzy arguments about morality and "gods will" and thus sidestep scientific studies of actual human welfare outcomes.

        • by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @08:27PM (#62219783)

          The Catholic Church isn't disputing any of the science behind contraception and abortion, they are disputing the ethics of performing/using them.
          For abortion they declared that an individuals live begins after conception, at that point there is a cell with a unique DNA sequence that isn't just the mother or the fathers DNA. Now that might be setting the bar to consider it alive to be much too high. As we are more than just our genetics, and at that point the Cell is no more complex than a Bacteria, in which nearly no one has an issue killing. But we can debate the start of life, to when it forms a heart, or perhaps with a sufficiently complex brain.... We could extend the logic out to a point after birth as a new born baby still isn't fully developed, and indeed other animals are born far more developed than humans are.

          They are not fuzzy arguments about the science, but fuzzy arguments for the morality, and deciding to set a high standard to the point where human life begins.

        • The church allowed the pursuit of science in ways the benefitted them and prohibited it when it didn't. They were the most powerful and wealthy organization for a long time, so there weren't a lot of other options for supporting it.

          Your claim about the nature of the dispute between the church and Galileo is a complete fabrication lifted from Galileo and the Vatican, which is full on self serving bullshit revisionism written by a cardinal. The church tortured the guy to get him to recant, not assholism bu
        • The Catholic Church has studied science throughout the ages, and with the obvious exception of believing in a god, are usually fairly good with facts. A Jesuit priest is responsible for the big bang theory, and contrary to the popular discourse on the matter, Galileo was not condemned for claiming the world orbits the sun; he was condemned for being an arsehole.

          In fact, the Vatican has spent centuries specifically making up for the way it treated Galileo by operating its own world-class observatory:
          http://www.vaticanobservatory.... [vaticanobservatory.va]

          After its original location near Rome became smogged in, the Vatican Observatory moved its operations to the clearer air of Arizona. It had to overcome strident opposition by the green left, which has now outclassed the Holy Inquisition in trying to take humankind back to the Stone Age. Fortunately for human progress, this state mustered

        • by gweihir ( 88907 )

          Indeed. These are highly competent and experienced liars and they make very sure their lies cannot be falsified. Hence they are not actually anti-science. They just employ science selectively in some areas.

      • by test321 ( 8891681 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @07:30PM (#62219651)

        * heliocentricism was proposed by Catholic canon Nicolaus Copernicus,
        * the "father of modern genetics" was Brother Gregor Mendel,
        * Jesuit priest Teilhard de Chardin was a noted paleontologist specialist of the Carbonifer era (before the dinos) and studied early hominids and the connection with the evolution of the brain.

        The Catholic church is perfectly cool with cosmology, quantum physics, the theory of evolution (Darwinism was declared compatible with the Catholic doctrine some 50+ years ago). You can get a Masters of Biotechnology, Neurosciences or Space science at a Pontifical university many places in the world.

        The modern anti-science (young earth creationism, flat-earthers, antivaxxers) is not promoted by the Catholic church, but more correlated to political extremism (who can be of any religion).

        The guy called Pope is an influencer with 1 billion followers and hundred of millions who regularly follow the Sunday morning podcast, this time he gave a good piece of advice to his fans, I don't see why we would complain.

        • by jellomizer ( 103300 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @08:34PM (#62219795)

          I once had the opportunity to talk to Catholic Bishop over a dinner. One thing that got me was how freaking smart that guy was. Fluent in at least 1/2 dozen languages, Master Degree in at least Bio Chemistry, he probably had more (we didn't try to ring him for his resume). He was book smart, street smart as well, as he was a bishop of some rather tough neighborhoods, extremely personable and very thoughtful on his thoughts on topics.

           

    • This pope has actually read the bible.

    • by ceoyoyo ( 59147 )

      You know you're full of shit when the pope calls you on it.

    • by Aubz ( 7986666 )
      Gods Capo has spoken.
    • by gweihir ( 88907 )

      If anybody knows how to successfully spread nonsense and misinformation, it's the pope.

      Not quite. While what the pope spreads is nonsense and misinformation, it is so only at its foundation. They have built a very complex and even somewhat consistent theory on that nonsense and it fools a lot of people into thinking they actually have something worthwhile considering.

      In comparison, the anti-vaxxers and covid-deniers are just rank amateurs with delusions.

  • How much is he part of the problem? He has no special expertise on science or scientific issues. He may have opinions on them, but there are far more people who have expertise. And even in terms of misinformation, there are academics who study that specifically. Why not see what they are saying about it? And yes, there really is a serious problem here probably, but quoting the Pope on it isn't really helping matters.
    • Re: (Score:2, Flamebait)

      by omnichad ( 1198475 )

      If people trusted subject matter experts we wouldn't have this problem.

    • by jonwil ( 467024 )

      If the Pope came out and said "God wants you to get vaccinated", a lot of people out there would probably listen.

      • by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @05:15PM (#62219309)

        No they'd probably say he's compromised and now part of the deep state.

      • If the Pope came out and said "God wants you to get vaccinated", a lot of people out there would probably listen.

        That's actually what the Pope is saying. Now in the USA you have ***holes like Cardinal Burke, an active anti-vaxxer who was smited by God for his sins (caught a rather nasty case of Covid himself).

        And that guy Burke claims to be a conservative. I always thought conservatives were people who tried to conserve life on earth, like birds, bees, forests, and humans living in a place where Covid is around. Turns out they are the exact opposite, trying to destroy what they touch.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 )

      How much is he part of the problem? He has no special expertise on science or scientific issues. He may have opinions on them, but there are far more people who have expertise. And even in terms of misinformation, there are academics who study that specifically. Why not see what they are saying about it? And yes, there really is a serious problem here probably, but quoting the Pope on it isn't really helping matters.

      Yeah, Malaria meds, anti parasitics, and now drinking ones own urine rather than get a vaccine. I'd say there is a problem. This is clownworld. But I do hope the Aanti vaxxers put up tiktoks showing them enjoying the frosty foamy goodness of quaffing their pee. and savoring it's salty goodness. Doesn't get much better than that.

      Now that being said, if a person wants to drink their own pee, losing their sense of taste and smell is a big advantage!

    • He may have opinions on them, but there are far more people who have expertise. And even in terms of misinformation, there are academics who study that specifically. Why not see what they are saying about it?

      You mean the ones who have been telling everyone neither hydrochloroquine nor goat paste has any effect on covid yet people keep ignoring them? The ones who have been saying vaccines are perfectly safe and help protect you, yet people keep ignoring them [imgur.com]? You mean those people who have expertise?

    • How much is he part of the problem?

      Absolutely zero. He's saying listen to doctors and medical science. Other leaders called it a hoax perpetrated by democrats.

    • Well he was a chemist before he was clergy.
    • Well hopefully he is taking advise from those well informed individuals. As much as I think the church is a pile of mythical mumbo jumbo, the pope is respected by those deluded individuals he represents and those people are some of the worst educated and gullible in society that simply do not listen to science or expert so they need their leader to tell them what to do.
    • by hey! ( 33014 )

      Here's an idea: you only get to complain about someone's lack of expertise on a problem if you're willing to listen to experts on that problem.

      If you want to argue that people shouldn't be listening to Greta Thunberg, I'd enthusiastically agree with you. In a world where people paid serious attention to climate scientists, it would be better if the Greta Thunbergs of that world just STFU.

      The fundamental problem is that *most* people decide what to believe by whether it falls in the Overton Window. The more

    • by sg_oneill ( 159032 ) on Sunday January 30, 2022 @07:44AM (#62220749)

      He's not. He's making a perfectly reasonable assertion, that people need to be more active in combatting harmful pseudoscience around vaccines, masks, covid etc.

      He's not an expert, but he IS a pope who has 1.3 billion catholics hanging on his every word. And as a demographic that tends to lean poor and right wing, its a demographic deeply at risk of politically motivated anti vax and anti mask propaganda. That makes him a perfect conduit to try and do that. Again, he's not an expert, but as the Pope he has a large scientific advisory organization (Jesuits!) able to make sure the information he imparts to the flock isn't harmful and incorrect.

      The Pope telling 1.3 billion mostly poor people to get vaccinated and berating governments to provide vaccines and best practice interventions for covid cases, is potentially a huge step forward in closing the vaccine gap.

      • Absolutely. And I'm actually glad to see the Pope actually propagate useful information rather than sticking to some archaic dogma which can justify any idiotic stance (like, God will protect us from Covid, no need for vaccines). This is quite a change from what we've seen in the past, and a refreshing one.

        You can always wonder what legitimacy he has, but what if he was actually saying the opposite? We should at least acknowledge his responsible behavior, given the impact his words can have.

  • by ffkom ( 3519199 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @04:48PM (#62219205)
    Does that Pope know how many people died from HIV, and how much of those could have lived if the Catholic Church had not told them to not use condoms? [wikipedia.org]

    Did that Pope comment on why inhabitants of the Vatican state received 3rd vaccinations long before elsewhere in the world people were offered a 1st dose? And that was after the Pope gave some pathos-loaded speeches on "vaccine equality".

    And by the way: Maybe the Pope should start cleaning out his own backyard before lecturing others: https://allafrica.com/stories/... [allafrica.com]
    • by Mononymous ( 6156676 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @05:15PM (#62219305)

      So your idea is that there are a bunch of Catholics who will commit fornication against the church's teachings, but make sure not to use condoms because of the church's teachings? I'm not convinced.

      • Take a look at the epidemic in Catholic parts of southern Africa over the past two decades if you need any proof. There were a lot of Catholics fornicating and definitely not using protection.
    • Does that Pope know how many people died from HIV, and how much of those could have lived if the Catholic Church had not told them to not use condoms? [wikipedia.org]

      So you are saying that they blindly listened to the Church on condoms but not adultery/fornication?

      • by ffkom ( 3519199 )

        So you are saying that they blindly listened to the Church on condoms but not adultery/fornication?

        Given how many priests of the Catholic church adhered to its rule to not get married, while at the same time cohabiting with "housekeepers" or abusing acolytes, it is entirely possible that many Catholic laymen succumbed to concupiscence while still adhering to the "No condoms!" rule, which is certainly much easier to follow.

        And btw., condoms protect against HIV even when married people are engaging in intercourse.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      Did that Pope comment on why inhabitants of the Vatican state received 3rd vaccinations long before elsewhere in the world people were offered a 1st dose? And that was after the Pope gave some pathos-loaded speeches on "vaccine equality".

      The Vatican has a national population of around 800 people. 800 very old people. They need to be vaccinated, and their numbers would be a rounding error in most small nations.

      • by ffkom ( 3519199 )

        Did that Pope comment on why inhabitants of the Vatican state received 3rd vaccinations long before elsewhere in the world people were offered a 1st dose? And that was after the Pope gave some pathos-loaded speeches on "vaccine equality".

        The Vatican has a national population of around 800 people. 800 very old people. They need to be vaccinated, and their numbers would be a rounding error in most small nations.

        Every single person can claim that his personal N-th. dose of vaccine would not make a big difference. That is as plausible as saying it does not matter if I shit on the street, as long as everyone else does not.

        Plus, if the stories about their almighty savior were not misinformation, "god's representatives on earth" would surely be protected from any Covid harm.

        • Plus, if the stories about their almighty savior were not misinformation, "god's representatives on earth" would surely be protected from any Covid harm

          Let me just say that this is nonsense. God helps those who help themselves. When there is an illness that can be very much stopped by getting vaccinated, and you refuse, then God isn't going to help you.

  • by Snotnose ( 212196 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @04:56PM (#62219229)
    The Catholic church has a long and sordid history of being wrong. Why does any modern, educated person give a shit what some bozo who believes some cosmic Jewish Zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree, says.

    Makes perfect sense. Except for the little boy diddling. That doesn't make any sense.
    • by waspleg ( 316038 ) on Saturday January 29, 2022 @06:46PM (#62219547) Journal

      I don't know, but there are a billion+ people who do, and at least they're taking the responsible/reasonable stance this time.

      He has at least one vociferous anti-vax bishop [wikipedia.org] and also a cardinal (haven't read his views though) [arstechnica.com] talking about how taking a vaccine is cannibalism because stem cells - never mind that they were used in research and not manufacturing. How do I know this? Because I've had at least one anti-vax friend/co-worker deep in a bunch of right wing conspiracy lunatic rabbit holes send me the video.

      • When that lunatic Cardinal Burke got ill with Covid, Pope Francis absolutely took the piss out of him.
    • The Catholic church has a long and sordid history of being wrong. Why does any modern, educated person give a shit what some bozo who believes some cosmic Jewish Zombie can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him that you
      accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree, says.

      Makes perfect sense. Except for the little boy diddling. That doesn't make any sense.

      Well there's a ton of Catholics who do care what he says, and they get COVID, help decide political policies, and do all the other things that people do regardless of religious affiliation.

      You can try making fun of them... but that doesn't really accomplish anything beyond your own amusement. I don't agree with the Pope on the existence of God, nor do I agree with a lot of things the Catholic Church has done. But this Pope does seem to be doing about as much as one could reasonably expect to make Catholic c

  • said Galileo was full of misinformation.

  • Stick to the kiddie fiddleing.
  • Thou Shalt Not Sling Bullshit on Spotify is right there on God's shopping list that Moses brought down from Mt Olympus or whatever.

  • Cool. Open the Vatican library to accredited academics for browsing, if accurate information is a Church priority. Let's see what stolen volumes [totally aren't] in there.

  • Is trying to sell us on religious dogma.

    WOW.

    Who'd-a-thunk-it?

  • "distortion of reality based on fear" - Isn't that the organisation that for centuries scared it's adherents by telling then they would burn in flames forever if they have been bad?
  • Leader of the greatest child abuse organization of all time. I don't know how covid funnels children into molester priests but I'm sure it's in the fine print somewhere.
  • A guy who believes in talking snakes is not an antivaxxer.

    A miracle in my book.

  • urging journalists to help those misled by coronavirus-related misinformation and fake news to better understand the scientific facts

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